The Velvet Alley (Playhouse 90)

"**The Velvet Alley**"
"The Velvet Alley"
Playhouse 90 episode
	Katharine Bard and Art Carney in The Velvet Alley
Episode no.	Season 3; Episode 16
Directed by	Franklin Schaffner
Written by	Rod Serling
Produced by	Herbert Brodkin
Original air date	January 22, 1959
Guest appearances
	Art Carney as Ernie Pandish; Leslie Nielsen as Eddie Kirkley; Jack Klugman as Max Salter;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Blue Men"	Next →; "A Quiet Game of Cards"

"The Velvet Alley" was an American television play broadcast on January 22, 1959 as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. Rod Serling was the writer and Franklin Schaffner the director. The cast included Art Carney and Leslie Nielsen.

Plot[edit]

A freelance writer in New York sells a script to Playhouse 90 and moves to Los Angeles. He becomes a success financially but neglects his wife and ends up being divorced and losing the respect of his father.

Cast[edit]

The cast included the following:^[1]^[2]

Art Carney as Ernie Pandish
Leslie Nielsen as Eddie Kirkley
Katharine Bard as Pat Pandish
Jack Klugman as Max Salter
Bonita Granville as Mrs. Kirkley
George Voskovec as Steve Pandish
Alexander Scourby as Harvey Diedrich
David White as Freddie Henderson
Micky Braddock, aka Micky Dolenz, as Melvin
Eddie Ryder as Julius
Martha Wentworth as Mrs. Cowznoski
John Conwell as Kirkley's associate
Dianne Cannon as Gloria
Burt Reynolds as the Actor

Barry Sullivan hosted the broadcast.

Production[edit]

The program aired on January 1, 1959, on the CBS television series Playhouse 90. Rod Serling wrote the teleplay. Franklin Schaffner was the director and Herbert Brodkin the producer.^[1]^[2]

Reception[edit]

Jack Gould of The New York Times wrote that it lacked the searching insight of some of Serling's works, "but it was still a ninety-minute play of fairly consistent interest and the uncompromising final curtain carried its own power."^[3] Gould also praised Jack Klugman for an "exceptionally good" performance as the writer's agent.^[3]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Playhouse 90: The Velvet Alley". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Playhouse 90, Season 3". The Classic TV Archive. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Jack Gould (January 23, 1959). "The Velvet Alley': 'Playhouse 90' Presents Rod Serling Play Based on Hollywood Theme". The New York Times. p. 51.

[Paley-1] "Playhouse 90: The Velvet Alley". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved October 19, 2020.

[CTVA-2] "Playhouse 90, Season 3". The Classic TV Archive. Retrieved October 19, 2020.

[NYT-3] Jack Gould (January 23, 1959). "The Velvet Alley': 'Playhouse 90' Presents Rod Serling Play Based on Hollywood Theme". The New York Times. p. 51.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Playhouse 90
People	John Frankenheimer Martin Manulis Franklin J. Schaffner Rod Serling
Season 1	"Forbidden Area" "Requiem for a Heavyweight" "Sizeman and Son" "Rendezvous in Black" "The Country Husband" "The Big Slide" "Heritage of Anger" "Eloise" "Confession" "Made in Heaven" "Sincerely, Willis Wade" "The Family Nobody Wanted" "Massacre at Sand Creek" "Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses" "The Ninth Day" "So Soon To Die" "The Star Wagon" "So Soon To Die" "The Greer Case" "The Miracle Worker" "The Comedian" "The Coat of White" "The Blackwell Story" "Invitation to a Gunfighter" "The Last Tycoon" "The Hostess with the Mostes'" "Charley's Aunt" "Clipper Ship" "If You Know Elizabeth" "Three Men on a Horse" "Four Women in Black" "Child of Trouble" "Homeward Borne" "Helen Morgan" "Winter Dreams" "Circle of the Day" "Without Incident" "Clash by Night" "Ain't No Time for Glory" "The Fabulous Irishman"
Season 2	"The Death of Manolete" "The Dark Side of the Earth" "Topaze" "A Sound of Different Drummers" "The Playroom" "Around the World in 90 Minutes" "The Mystery of Thirteen" "The Edge of Innocence" "The Clouded Image" "The Jet Propelled Couch" "The Troublemakers" "Panic Button" "Galvanized Yankee" "The Thundering Wave" "For I Have Loved Strangers" "The Lone Woman" "Reunion" "The Last Man" "The 80 Yard Run" "Before I Die" "The Gentleman From Seventh Avenue" "The Violent Heart" "No Time at All" "Point of No Return" "Portrait of a Murderer" "The Last Clear Chance" "The Male Animal" "The Right Hand Man" "Turn Left at Mount Everest" "The Dungeon" "Verdict of Three" "Rumors of Evening" "Not the Glory" "Nightmare at Ground Zero" "Bomber's Moon" "Natchez" "The Innocent Sleep" "A Town Has Turned to Dust" "The Great Gatsby" "A Bitter Heritage"
Season 3	"The Plot to Kill Stalin" "Days of Wine and Roses" "The Time of Your Life" "The Long March" "Shadows Tremble" "Word From a Sealed-Off Box" "Heart of Darkness" "Old Man" "The Return of Ansel Gibbs" "Free Weekend" "Seven Against the Wall" "The Nutcracker" "Face of a Hero" "The Wings of the Dove" "The Blue Men" "The Velvet Alley" "A Quiet Game of Cards" "Child of Our Time" "The Second Man" "The Raider" "The Dingaling Girl" "Made in Japan" "For Whom the Bell Tolls" "A Trip to Paradise" "In Lonely Expectation" "The Day Before Atlanta" "Judgment at Nuremberg" "A Corner of the Garden" "Dark December" "Diary of a Nurse" "A Marriage of Strangers" "Out of Dust" "The Rank and File" "The Killers of Mussolini" "Project Immortality" "Dark as the Night" "The Second Happiest Day"
Season 4	"Target for Three" "The Sounds of Eden" "Misalliance" "The Hidden Image" "The Grey Nurse Said Nothing" "The Tunnel" "The Silver Whistle" "A Dream of Treason" "To the Sound of Trumpets" "The Cruel Day" "Tomorrow" "The Hiding Place" "Alas, Babylon" "Journey to the Day" "The Shape of the River" "In the Presence of Mine Enemies"
Revivals	CBS Playhouse CBS Playhouse 90